


To Have A Passion

by amaikana



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chance Meetings, College Student Akaashi Keiji, Conversations, Developing Friendships, Gen, Pro Volleyball Player Oikawa Tooru
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaikana/pseuds/amaikana
Summary: In which Akaashi got a college scholarship in Argentina—and encountering a person he'd only ever seen in DVD records there.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Oikawa Tooru
Kudos: 20
Collections: SofA Lite, amaikana's Personal Picks





	To Have A Passion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zhahzu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhahzu/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [zhahzu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhahzu/pseuds/zhahzu) in the [sofa2020lite](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/sofa2020lite) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  nothing too detailed. just write how you think akaashi would react after meeting oikawa - a japanese volleyball player he's only heard about (karasuno's arch rival and current opening setter for the argentina national team)

“Hey, you!”

Akaashi frowns. He halts his steps. That voice sounds familiar. Although, the possibility of who could it be might range quite a bit, considering that he's currently residing in the highly populated area of Argentina's capital city. Not to mention, he isn't used yet to the accent of Spanish language that differs vastly from Japanese, his own mother tongue.

“Hey! You! Yeah, you!”

…Still, that voice sounds so _oddly_ familiar. It kind of stands out from the usual Spanish accent that Akaashi used to hear in his daily life lately. It sounds more like—

“Oi! Fukurodani!”

—Japanese dialect. A _Japanese_ person!

Hearing his school almamater name being called out, Akaashi quickly glance back—as both curiosity and bewilderment race through his mind—and is pleasantly surprised when his eyes is met with a familiar face. Someone that he had never talked with, let alone being close. Although he had witnessed the guy's action on court quite a few times through the DVD records his senpai brought to the club on his high school volleyball days.

The corners of his mouth quirked up into a small smile. “Ah—”

 _'Aoba Johsai,'_ he's about to say. But... No. He thinks he still remembers who is this one guy.

“Oikawa… _Tooru-san_?” Akaashi guesses.

The said guy responds his tentative greeting with a pleased grin, which gives Akaashi the impression that he had got the name right.

“Fancy seeing you here.” Oikawa pauses. “Akaashi… _Correct?_ ”

Akaashi nods. “It’s Akaashi Keiji,” he adds.

Oikawa smiles again and offered his hand for him to shake.

Akaashi reaches out hesitantly. It’s not like he ever interacted with Oikawa before during his high school years, after all. To know a person personally and knowing them from seeing the recordings of them on crappy clubroom television screen are just two distinctly different things.

“Huh. What a coincidence! I just met Chibi-chan last week in Brazil, and here I am, encountering another familiar Japanese face again. It truly is a small world!” Oikawa laments dramatically.

Akaashi frowns. “Chibi-chan?”

“Oh– I mean, Hinata Shouyou. You know, that shorty kid in Karasuno? He’s around Tobio-chan’s age, so… I think he should be a year below your grade?” Oikawa guesses. “Wait. I think your team must’ve had faced him too at some point back then…”

“Ah, yeah. I’m familiar with Hinata Shouyou,” Akaashi confirms. “Fukurodani used to do a joint training camp with Karasuno and some other high school teams in Tokyo area back then. I think they might still be doing it too nowadays…” He wonders out loud.

For some reason, hearing his respond, Oikawa’s grin widened.

“So… Akaashi-kun, do you have any free time today? I’m trying to get a fresh air before my upcoming official game tomorrow, and I think catching up a bit with you would be a great idea. What do you say?”

Akaashi raises his eyebrow. There are quite many questions swirling in his mind that he’d like to ask to this person. However, the one that stands out the most right now is…

“Catching up? I believe we never even talked before.”

“Well, duh. There’s always a time for a first! Come on, don’t you miss speaking in Japanese? I’ve been more than 2 years here, and I still miss cursing in Japanese sometimes! It just hits different!”

Akaashi inwardly deadpans. It seems like Oikawa has a little moody and childish sides in him too. Although it’s definitely nowhere near Bokuto’s level. He’s never met anyone else whose mood swings near Bokuto’s level—and he honestly hopes he would never have to.

Glancing briefly at his watch, Akaashi decides he doesn’t really have any particularly important thing on his to-do list today. Besides, Oikawa was kind of right. He _does_ miss speaking in Japanse. A lot.

…Turns out, agreeing with Oikawa might not be the best decision, after all. But Akaashi only begins to regret it later.

Here he is, barely 3 hours after his whimsical agreement to come along with the Oikawa to his training center, _setting_ a ball to Oikawa’s teammates. Which all are _professional_ players, much to his deflating self-esteem.

Akaashi finds out from their brief conversation on the way here that Oikawa is currently a member of a Division 1 VC team in Argentina, which is still a rather bizarre thing for him to warp his mind on. But again, he’d never faced Oikawa in any match during his high school years, so he can’t really judge the guy.

Their schools located in different provinces and Aoba Josei never making it to Nationals during Oikawa’s years are the main reasons why they never faced off in a match before. Though, for someone whose team never, _ever_ qualify to neither Nationals nor Inter-High, to make it _this_ far—being a professional player in the west that qualify for National team—is really an idea that frankly sounds straight out of some Shounen manga.

So, he tells Oikawa exactly that.

“HAHAHA– Shounen manga? Oh my gosh, I haven’t heard that word in _so_ long! I used to collect a lot Shounen manga too, you know? But– Ahahaha! Akaashi-kun! Gosh, I didn’t really take you as the brutally honest type. Well… Apparently sometimes appearance can be deceiving.”

Oikawa wipes out the tears from his laughter, gulping his mineral bottle down, before taking another one and offering it to him. Akaashi accepts it with a simple thanks. They are currently taking a lunch break in a nearby family restaurant after they’re done with (definitely far from serious) match with Oikawa’s teammates.

“I work as an intern in Weekly Shounen Jump manga division now,” Akaashi informs Oikawa nonchalantly.

Oikawa looks rather interested in the revelation. “Oh, really? Hence the reference?”

_‘Not really… Shounen manga just suddenly popped up in my mind for some reason…’_

But Akaashi nods nonetheless.

“Hmm… Does it mean you’re not going pro, then? In volleyball, I mean.”

“No. I’ve never had any plans to become a professional player to begin with. Although I remember Bokuto-san, my captain back then, was very passionate about it, and… Well, admittedly, I’ve entertained the idea of going pro for a brief while back then. But, after all… I think I’m just not really cut for it. Not skill-wise, I mean. It’s just… More like that I’ve never really had any motivation for pursuing volleyball as a career,” Akaashi finishes.

“Ah, I get it. Well, kind of. Actually, I think it’s understandable. Just ‘cause you like it, doesn’t mean you have to pursue it as a career. I wanted to become astronaut when I was a kid, you know? I kept telling people that I’d become astronaut after graduate. My grades were quite good too, I think. But in the end… Yeah. Volleyball’s still wining my heart.” Oikawa pauses, then he comments again more airily, “It feels like this becoming a story time now, eh?”

“You’re the one who said that we should try ‘catching up’ a bit,” Akaashi counters him flatly.

Oikawa laughs. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, speaking of story time, you know, I met Hinata the other week—”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned it.”

“Oh, really?”

Akaashi nods. “How did you two met? And… What Hinata was even doing in Brazil?”

“You’re asking that but you still haven’t told me yet about how did you end up here. I mean, Argentina? Thousands kilometer from Japan and _NOT_ even for Volleyball?”

“I got scholarship to get double majors. One from Tokyo University, one from Buenos Aires University here,” Akaashi explains simply.

“Whoaaa, those are some big names there! Also, a double-majors scholarship?! Is it fully funded?”

“Well… Not fully funded, but… It does cover most of the important expenses,” Akaashi ends up elaborating half-heartedly.

It’s not that he isn’t proud of himself. It’s just… Okay, maybe it’s actually the case. Maybe, just maybe, being around someone as passionate as Bokuto does change his perception about self-expectation a bit. It’s just… Despite knowing that these 2 universities he managed to land on can even be categorized as the “elite” ones, it still feels as if he—

“You seem like you lack passion for it, though,” Oikawa comments.

Akaashi shrugs. “I’m the type who lives just by following the flow. I don’t really have ‘passion.’”

_‘Unlike Bokuto-san…’_

Oikawa makes a face. “Seriously? Isn’t it boring just living like that? Well, but everyone each to their own, I guess.”

Akaashi sighs. He stares at the food on his plate forlornly, suddenly feeling that even his lack of appetite is rather ironic.

“By the way, about you meeting Hinata…” Akaashi tries to change the topic.

“Oh, yeah! Chibi-chan! We got along great now, hahaha. Can you guess what that shorty’s here for?”

“Huh? For joining foreign team, isn’t it? Just the same as you?”

“Yep~” Oikawa drawls his word out. “BUT! It’s _not_ volleyball!”

Akaashi looks at him weirdly. “You mean… Hinata dropped volleyball to pursue a career with other sports?”

Unbelievable. Even after saying it out loud, it still sounds too bizarre to his ears. Like, Hinata Shouyou? Changing sports? Seriously?

“Nah, nah. It isn’t like that.” Oikawa waves him off. “I mean, it’s _kind of_ like that. That shorty is now playing beach volleyball—”

“Beach volleyball? So, he’s still playing volleyball then…”

Akaashi should’ve guessed it. There’s just _no way_ someone like Hinata Shoyo would suddenly quit volleyball on a whim.

“Nah, it’s different.” Oikawa waves him off. “I mean, the rules and such are kinda like volleyball, but it’s also pretty much different.

Oikawa sips his milkshake drink before continuing again. “Anyway, Chibi-chan got someone recommending him to try beach volleyball here. It’s like… Some kind of training for him? I think it is. Beach volleyball makes it so _hard_ for players to make a jump. It makes a hella good core training with Chibi-chan’s playing style, you know? Oh, he’s also saying that he will come back to Japan sometime around next year. I think he’s doing it as part of his preparation to aim for Japanese National Team.”

Akaashi frowns. To go as far as learning other sport just to strengthen your basic as a volleyball player… That’s the kind of determination and level of passion that he definitely can never understand.

“Sounds crazy, isn’t it?”

He looks up at Oikawa again, and is met with the other’s giddy grin.

“You seem like the kind of people who might pull that kind of thing too,” Akaashi comments.

“Haha, am I now?” Oikawa laughs a bit. “Passion is thrilling, for me. Well… I guess some people—people like you who only goes on with their lives and following its flow—probably won’t really understand it. But for me… For people like me, and Chibi-chan, and yeah… probably for that annoying Tobio-chan too, passion is almost everything for us. It’s the drive, the strength, the vision– you got it?”

_‘No.’_

Akaashi deadpans.

But… Come to think about it again… Yeah, he thinks he probably gets it.

“People like the lots of you are amazing, I think,” Akaashi muses out loud.

“People are different. Everyone has their own quirks and such. I’d know that. I’m a setter, after all.” Oikawa shrughs.

Now, Akaashi can understand that one sentiment. As a fellow setter—albeit now only as a hobbyist player than anything—he understands the pressure and the need to observe his own teammates on the court in order to make the best decision. It’s a thing he’s been doing for several years now. Once the game starts, things like that would become such an automatic instinct to him—he thinks Oikawa would also get that.

“But,” Oikawa continues, “I think for people like me, following our passion is… Something like other people following their everyday lives, you know?”

…Okay, now, Akaashi doesn’t really get that one.

Alas, it seems like Oikawa doesn’t have much time on his plate for them continue their talk.

“Oh my gosh, over 50 messages from my managers?! How come I didn’t hear any– I SET MY PHONE TO SILENT MODE?! SINCE WHEN?! OH GOD– _SHIT._ I’M DEAD NOW—”

 _‘Oikawa-san… Really has some interesting sides,’_ Akaashi muses exasperatedly.

“Damnit, I’m so sorry, Akaashi-kun I gotta—”

“Yeah, I think I also have some e-mails I need to quickly send out to my Professors,” Akaashi cuts him.

Oikawa grins sheepishly. “We should hang out again sometimes. Maaan! I really miss speaking in Japanese!”

“Well, my scholarship’s period still last until next spring. So, I think there should be still plenty of times for us to meet-up like this again, Oikawa-san.”

“Great, then. See ya later! Oh– and I’m leaving the bills on the table. Don’t worry, Akaashi-kun! I’m paying for you too—only this time!”

As soon as Oikawa is out of sight, Akaashi lets out a long sigh.

Well, that was…certainly something.

_‘So…passion, huh?’_

He’s fine without it…probably. Although it’s rather entertaining to watch how the journey of those who clings to their passion and chases after their dreams unfolds.

_‘Wait. This gives me some ideas for that plot holes in Tenma-san’s manga. Better get back and write an e-mail it to him soon before I forget.’_

With that, Akaashi leaves the restaurant as well.

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt was the first thing that caught my eyes, but writing it actually wasn't as easy as I initially imagine, haha. The most difficult thing when writing it was finding the connecting thread, I guess. To find the thing that could turn a meaningless meeting into something...somewhat meaningful. The narration didn't end up as intriguing as when I plotting it in my head, lol. But I hope this was still an entertaining read (^^;)


End file.
